NOTES: I suggest that the introduction posted
beneath this box be read first - before diving into the actual
index itself. Please see the bottom of the page for the appropriate
links to the sections of the index. I have broken these
sections into a dozen smaller bits so that no one section
will be too great for any user to access even if they do not
have access to broadband.

I have also added
a second index listing the various place names referenced
in the Memoirs. This kind of index has its own fascinations and
uses.

Finally, the texts that the indices are based
on are also reachable through hyperlinks.

Regrettably, I am
not a BREAKEY family expert, but there are others whose work
and generosity has given us much. I would particularly draw your
attention to the painstaking and interesting work done by the
contributors to The
Breakey Collection. This site is hosted by Marilyn J. Breakey
. I recommend a thorough study of all the materials on
that site. The more time I spend with them, the more I learn.

Sharon Oddie Brown, December 6, 2005

Since my
index to these two books of Memoirs
is alphabetical, this means that it starts with the Old Testament
person called Adam and
ends with the ancient Greek, Zenophen. Between these two ancient
names, there are approximately 500 individuals - most of whom lived
in the 1700-1800s and within a day’s horse-ride from Ballybay.
Thomas Cathcart BREAKEY's Memoirs are also chock full of folk sayings,
family stories, histories of the region and insights into the life
and character of Thomas Cathcart Breakey. Taken together, these two “books” are
quite possibly as idiosyncratic as my attempts at an index. Be forewarned – this
not an academic approach – but it does work
for me and I will explain.

I began
indexing the two Memoirs out of sheer desperation. There is one BREAKEY
ancestor in my family tree that I simply could not place. Her name
was Elizabeth BREAKEY (1758-1844) and she married Thomas BRADFORD
in 1781. Her father was a William BREAKEY (who died before 1760)
and her mother was Elizabeth BIRCH (1733-1812)., likely of Tullylish,
Co. Down There is a map at Gilford Castle, Co. Down with her name
on it showing lands in Cordevlish,
Parish of Aughnamullin, Co Monaghan. This map likely relates
to her dowry, given its date which is just before her 1781 marriage.
This map also mentions other names which were mentioned in Thomas
Cathcart BREAKEY’s Memoir, notably John BREAKEY and George & John
KERR (who may be the original John KERR who is said to have emigrated
from Scotland).

In preparing
the index ,
I didn’t
get any further in finding the ancestors of my Elizabeth BREAKEY,
but it did lead me to try and construct a BREAKEY family tree, a
tree which particularly with respect to the entries of the early
1600s & 1700s will be guaranteed to
contain inaccuracies. I live in hope that there are people connected
with the Breakey
Collection who can set me to rights. The research for this tree
leans heavily (and therefore treacherously) on the Memoirs of Thomas
Cathcart BREAKEY, therefore reader beware.

My best
guess* at this time is that "my" William BREAKEY (born unknown - died
before 1760) who is the father of my aforementioned Elizabeth BREAKEY,
may also be the same William BREAKEY (1712 - ) in the BREAKEY family
tree whose first wife was Martha MITCHELL. If this is true, then
Elizabeth BIRCH would have been a second wife whom he married after
the death of his first. The birth dates of Martha MITCHELL & William
BREAKEY’s
children would make this a distinct possibility as the last one was
born in the early 1740s while Elizabeth was born 1758. If all this
is true, then there is a strong probability that the John BREAKEY
on the map is her half brother.

* NOTE: This theory of mine is most likely
hogwash. I have learned something new today that throws it into a cocked
hat. The COrduffles BREAKEY family is the next "warm" spot to look. Dec.
7, 2005

The deeper
I got into trying to unearth the truth about my Elizabeth BREAKEY,
the deeper I found myself snared in all the tangles, both factual and
semantic, of the Memoirs of Thomas Cathcart Breakey. In the spirit
of honouring his first intention, that these be shared as widely as
possible, I have spent an indecent amount of time turning both books
into digital text and then compiling the index. It isn’t perfect.
There will be quite possibly as many errors in my contribution as there
are in Thomas Cathcart BREAKEY’s. The transcriptions of Jeannie
Stewart done during WWII add another layer of potential inaccuracy
as does the automatic instinct of my computer to instantly leap to
spelling corrections from time to time (even when I tell it not to!).
These historic layers of error should be caution enough when imagining
how much my layer of errors might add to the confusion. On the other
hand, I am still alive and welcome correction.

Once the
rough draft has been out there long enough to allow for such corrections
to be received and entered, it would be great to compile a properly
footnoted version of both books of the Memoirs. I could have taken
that approach myself, but decided that most people interested in genealogy
start with the question,
“where are my ancestors?”. An annotated table is the fastest
way to meet that need. Maybe someone else will volunteer to do a more
scholarly annotation of the Memoirs in the fullness of time. Regardless
of how it happens, I suspect that Thomas Cathcart Breakey would be
grateful, as long as the work that he did is shared. As it is already,
my contribution would not have been possible without the considerable
work and generous contributions of Marilyn J. Breakey (who
hosts and edits The Breakey Collection and collated the texts in 1980)
and Edward P. Breakey who both rescued them from obscurity and then
shared them as widely as he could in 1962.

Sharon Oddie
Brown
December 6, 2005

INDEX TO THE MEMOIRS OF THOMAS CATHCART BREAKEY
BOOKS I & II

Since I am at present unsure
whether the index and Memoirs are best
posted here, on The Breakey Collection or elsewhere, I have
removed them from this site until I have more clarity.